US government increases pressure on Germany to halt Nord Stream 2

The US administration has increased efforts to persuade Germany and other EU countries to drop support for the planned Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to connect Russia with Germany, Andreas Mihm reports for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). The US state department’s Acting Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs, Sue Saarnio, visited Berlin for talks with the German government and politicians. She told FAZ the pipeline would increase EU dependence on Russia, and that Ukraine, which currently benefits from natural gas transit fees, would lose a lot of revenue. Nord Stream 2 was not just a business project, but had implications for the European security policy, Saarnio said.

For background, read the news digest entry German authorities issue first partial permit for Nord Stream 2 pipeline and the CLEW factsheet Germany’s dependence on imported fossil fuels.